Product Description

The Great War of 1914-1918 confronted the United States with one of the most wrenching crises in the nation's history. It also left a residue of disruption and disillusion that spawned an even more ruinous conflict scarcely a generation later.
Over Here is the single-most comprehensive discussion of the impact of World War I on American society. This 25th anniversary edition includes a new afterword from Pulitzer Prize-winning author David M. Kennedy, that explains his reasons for writing the original edition as well as his opinions on the legacy of Wilsonian idealism, most recently reflected in President George W. Bush's national security strategy. More than a chronicle of the war years, Over Here uses the record of America's experience in the Great War as a prism through which to view early twentieth century American society. The ways in which America mobilized for the war, chose to fight it, and then went about the business of enshrining it in memory all indicate important aspects of enduring American character. An American history classic, Over Here reflects on a society's struggle with the pains of war, and offers trenchant insights into the birth of modern America.

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #335700 in Books
• Published on: 2004-10-07
• Original language: English
• Number of items: 1
• Binding: Paperback
• 448 pages

Review
"Probably the best, the coolest, the most objective and solid one volume it is now possible to write."--The Historian

"A major contribution to the historiography of the war years.... At its most ambitious level, Over Here is intended to be read as a study in American national character."--The Journal of American History

"A very careful and thoughtful study, fascinating in its insight, panoramic in its sweep."--The American Historical Review

"This is one of those rare books rich with ideas that provide the mind with genuinely new perceptions." --American Heritage

About the Author

David Kennedy is Donald J. MacLachlan Professor of History at Stanford University. He is the author of the Pulitzer Prize-winning Freedom From Fear, a volume in the Oxford History of the United States series.

Customer Reviews

The Emergence of Wilsonianism

This is the second book by David Kennedy that I've had the pleasure of reading, and once again, his narrative is both scholarly and well written. This account is an examination of the impact of war, in this case, World War I on American society. Some of the subjects discussed include the progressive movement in the United States (represented at the highest level by President Wilson), the economic situation and the changes (in some cases lack of) that occurred during the war period, and the legacies left in the war's aftermath. The social aspects of American society are also touched upon, such as the eventual migration of blacks from the South into the cities, the women's movement, and so forth.

Many influential politicians, writers, and other figures are mentioned throughout the book, not just in the political sphere, but also in the industrial and labor sectors (especially Samuel Gompers). Kennedy's book covers a very broad topic, but his analysis throughout is cogent and well thought out. For example, despite the clamor for a more active government as espoused by many liberals and progressives, Wilson and others were reluctant to use the wheels of government to effect great social and economic changes. Kennedy gives a lot of focus to the progressive movement in this country, an obviously fascinating topic considering the ambitious goals of many of its leaders.

The more conservative groups and leaders in the country are also discussed. The isolationist and economic protectionist sentiments that ran deep in the souls of many Americans provided a good framework for understanding the clash of ideas permeating the debates surrounding our country's new found role in the world. Wilson, as Kennedy concludes, offered a radical departure from the past. Whether Wilsonianism was what was best for the country, his articulated philosophy has come to play a huge role in shaping our foreign policy, even to this very day.

The economic aspects of the war also receive a lot of attention. For labor, the progressives offered great promise. The 8 hour work day, the ending of child labor, the right to union, better wages and so forth usually found support in the progressive cause. In terms of industrial output and trade, America was not the economic powerhouse that it is today. We still lagged behind other countries in terms of ship production, exports, and so forth. The war would help change that, but not as noticeably as during the Second World War.

The relations between management and labor receives quite a bit of attention, especially in terms of how the Wilson administration tried to steer more of a middle of the road course in making the parts work as a whole in support of the war. Once again, this topic touches on the theme of just how involved or reluctant the federal government would become in the nation's economy, which leads in turn to questions concerning the nature and role of government in different spheres of American life. Progressives who eventually came around to supporting the war saw it as an opportunity to make their goals realized in a quicker and larger way. In the end, it proved to be a let down.

America's role in the world becomes more understood as the war progresses and after it ends. We had seen little of the actual fighting as compared to the other allies who had fought. The attitudes of the Americans who served in Europe also seemed to differ from the attitudes of those who had been fighting longer, and had as a result, seen more death and destruction. Wilson, as Kennedy mentioned, came to Europe to join the peace conference with high hopes of appealing to the masses, to try and convince others that his vision for peace offered the best hope for the future. Not everyone shared in Wilson's ideas and idealism. Indeed, Wilson faced defeat in his own country when the Congress refused to ratify the peace treaty due to it's inclusion of the league of nations, which in the eyes of conservative leaders like Lodge, threatened American sovereignty. Once again, this demonstrated the power of ingrained beliefs and traditions.

Kennedy's book is very informative and often quite provocative. There is a lot of focus on the progressive mentality during this era and how it was challenged, defeated, and yet survived. The common man doesn't come through as much in this book, but this is primarily concerned with the political and economic conditions on American society on a larger scale. He accomplishes much in this book and I was quite impressed overall. A must read.

3 Stars
This was an okay book. It wasn't really what I expected, though. It's an in-depth look at the "top-dogs" in politics in America during World War I, but I was expecting more discussion on the average person on the home-front during the war (i.e., wives and mothers, small businesses, children...) If you are looking for that, this book is not for you. However, all in all, a good discussion of the top politicians of the day during the war. A little too much economics for my liking, but okay.

The Progressives were a casualty of War . . .
Although perhaps best known for "Freedom from Fear: The American People in Depression and War, 1929-1945" (1999), much of David Kennedy's earlier work centered on Progressivism and early twentieth-century social history. His 369-page monograph, "Over Here: The First World War and American Society" (1980) followed a decade after his editing of "Social Thought in America and Europe" (1970) and "Progressivism: The Critical Issues" (1971). Significantly, Kennedy wrote in the mid-1970s on "War and the American Character."[1] The influence of these earlier studies is evident in "Over Here." Using "the occasion of the war as a window through which to view early twentieth-century American society," Kennedy explores Progressivism's support for "the historic departure of the United States from isolation and all that isolation implied." (vii) How "millions of persons in the strikingly voluntaristic and fragmented society that was early twentieth-century America" were (or even if they were) disciplined and mobilized "in a manner from which history and geography had theretofore singularly spared them" (viii) is the book's central theme. "The answers," contends Kennedy, "reveal much about the historical moment through which American society was then passing...the peculiarities of American history when contrasted with...other peoples...[and] about abiding features of American national character." (viii)

Kennedy finds that largely through its successes in molding public opinion, the Wilson administration led Progressives to support the war in the belief that it would further their aims. However, under wartime stressors, Wilson proved to be a reactionary and less committed to Progressive ideals than Dewey and other Progressives who followed him to war had hoped or believed. Kennedy documents the slide towards authoritarian management that characterized the one-hundred percent Americanism of the war years. The disillusionment of the war progressives is a foreshadowing of the "tale of death, broken hopes, frustrated dreams, and...curious defeat-in-victory that was Woodrow Wilson's, and the nation's, bitter lot." (ix) Progressivism was a casualty of war.

Kennedy organizes the book thematically following a rough chronology. He details the use of wartime propaganda and its effects, the impact of the War on the American economy and political scene, as well as the international dimensions of "The Political Economy of War." He spends two chapters focusing on the Army: first on the conscription of millions of Americans that had no previous experience with the military (or the federal government in any form other than the post-office for the most part!), and then on their experience on the Western front. Unlike Edward Coffman's The War to End All Wars (1986) or The Regulars (2004), Kennedy is not concerned with the view from the staff officers or from men in the trenches; he focuses on the political impact of Pershing's limited successes during America's comparatively brief experience in France.

The focus of the book goes beyond how the War impacted American society to investigate "those aspects of the American experience in the First World War" the author takes "to be crucial for an understanding of modern American history. Despite its subject matter, Over Here is hardly what many historians consider military history; however, it is just that. Kennedy takes a very broad look at how the War caused certain aspects of what he sees as the national character to emerge under the stressors of that conflict. Kennedy's book is in a class with Cecilia O'Leary's To Die For: The Paradox of American Patriotism (1999) and Alan Dawley's Changing the World: American Progressives in War and Revolution (2003) in its perception of American nationalism and the impact of the war on politics and society. One might even compare its conclusions to Allen Matusow's "Unraveling of America: A History of Liberalism in the 1960s"-both authors claim their political eras are casualties of their respective wars.

David Kennedy masterfully handles the interconnected complexities of Progressivism, nationalism, Wilsonian idealism, and political economy. However, his treatment of the army as an institution and the effects of conscription on both the American home front and for America's citizen-soldiers raises more questions than it attempts to answer. The high political tone and level of analysis taken preclude Kennedy's concentration on these important issues. As good as Kennedy's study is, its failure to address these issues leaves it incomplete.

[1] David M. Kennedy, "War and the American Character," The Stanford Magazine, Vol. 3, No.1 (Spring/Summer 1975), p. 14ff; an abridged version also appeared in The Nation, Vol. 220, No. 17, May 3, 1975, p. 522ff.